Pushing past the limit

KAPAA — Under the hot sun, some of Kauai’s fittest tested their physical and mental boundaries.

CrossFit Kapaa hosted the inaugural Coconut Cup on Saturday at the Kapaa Hockey Rink. Forty-two competitors representing several CrossFit gyms on the island took part in the competition.

“I think it went so freaking amazing. It was awesome,” said event coordinator and CrossFit Kapaa co-owner Charlotte Psaila. “We couldn’t have done it without the volunteers. There was minor hiccups, but it was fine. Everyone was very patient, as far as weight changes and all that stuff.”

Twenty-one teams of two competed in three events.

In the last event of the day, dubbed the “Best Buddy Barbell Party,” teams completed tasks along a course and made their way toward the finish line. Tasks included seated rowing, dead lifts, lunges, box jumps, jumping rope and burpees.

“CrossFit definition is, ‘functional movement done constantly and varied in high intensity,’” Psaila said. “What that means is you do movements that would translate in real-life functionally, and then constantly vary them, make them different all the time, and then you add intensity in.”

“It is the most efficient workout, we feel. As you see, a 13-minute workout destroyed people,” she added.

The contest was also a fundraiser; the proceeds will be donated to The Boys and Girls Club of Kauai. At least $1,000 was raised Saturday.

“We have two members that work for The Boys and Girls Club. They’ve just talked about how much they love kids and how much work they put in,” Psaila said. “We know how hard it is to get funds for things like that. We figured we can give back and help our community a little bit.”

Teams competed in four divisions of varying difficulty: Men’s RX, Women’s RX, Men’s Scaled and Women’s Scaled.

Team Kanak Attack of Kilauea CrossFit, Joe Steed and Dusty Psaila, placed first in the Men’s RX division.

“It was pretty good. It was a fun day. I enjoyed myself,” Steed said. “Everything went pretty good. I didn’t come into it with any expectations — just wanted to come have fun with my friends. It went pretty well.”

Team Older Than You of CrossFit High Impact in Puhi, Royden Yamamoto and Mike Tresler, won the Men’s Scaled division.

“It feels awesome,” Yamamoto said. “Being the oldest team, I think we did pretty good. Mike’s 40-something, and I’m 39.”

Team Kracey of CrossFit Kapaa, Grace Peralta and Kristy Nagahisa, won the Women’s RX division.

“We were the only competitors in our division, but it was really awesome,” Peralta said. “We both got injured (prior), and it was funny because it was at separate times and injured different things. Like, ‘We’re not going to do it anymore.’ Then we’re like, ‘No, we can do it. Just got to take it easy and be careful.’ And it was fun.”

Peralta works for The Boys and Girls Club of Kauai in the Lihue club. She said to be part of an event like this helps her set an example for the kids she works with.

“I’ve been attending CrossFit Kapaa for about two years. Me and my other friend would share our work experiences — about these kids and how we’re going to get them started in CrossFit,” Peralta said. “Our job is to inspiring youth to become responsible and caring citizens. To have this whole event dedicated to that is an honor.

“A few of our teenagers came out, and they did the burpee challenge. It was cool for them to see us, somewhere else out of work, still being a good role model,” she continued. “We want to be good role models for them — keeping fit and doing safe things.”

Team Big Butts & Coconuts of CrossFit Kapaa, Val Hayes and Kai Lovell, won the Women’s Scaled division.

“It feels amazing, and I couldn’t have done it at all without Kai,” Hayes said. “When I wanted to pick her as my partner, I knew she had what it takes to be a beast mama. With all the hard work and dedication, having to split time with out families, I’m so happy she did it with me.”